Linger
by Lady Scarlet-Une
Summary: 2xH. "It started with an odd clinking noise."


Linger  
  
By Lady Scarlet-Une  
  
  
It started with an odd clinking noise.  
The coat had been laying on the back of one of her dining room chairs, tossed over absently after their late night. It had surprised her at first because it was of a style she never would have attributed to him. Long and black, the camel hair coat had looked extremely elegant on him, as did his expensive suit and tie. Six years was a long time, though, and she'd attributed it all to change. So she'd forgotten it as the night had gone on.  
Now, however, in the bright sunshine of the early morning, Hilde couldn't help but wonder about Duo Maxwell's metamorphosis. Feeling guilty, she reached into one of the pockets and drew out its contents. Her eyes zoomed in on something gold and shiny amidst the spare change.  
Her fingers were surprisingly steady as she picked up the worn, gold wedding band.  
  
***  
One of the most distinct memories of Hilde's childhood was watching her father walk away. Her mother had been holding her hand, so she couldn't run after him before he got into his car and drove off. She could remember asking her mother questions. Where was he going? When was he coming back? Why weren't they going along as well?  
Her mother had looked so angry that Hilde had cringed back. All her mother did, though, was grasp her chin and look her daughter in the eyes.  
'He's going to her.'  
That's all she'd said, and it wasn't until five years later, when Hilde was twelve, that she'd finally learned the whole story. Father had left his family for another woman, and he'd never looked back.  
She'd cried after her mother had finally told her the truth. They had been sitting on the sofa in the living room, Hilde desperately wanting comfort, but knowing she'd find none in her mother's cold, rigid frame. She could remember asking what sort of woman would do that to a family, what sort of woman would tear apart something sacred like that.  
Her mother had turned to her and summed up five years of bitterness in two, distinct words.  
'A whore.'  
***  
  
She sat in her kitchen and stared down at the small ring lying next to her coffee cup. She'd hoped at first that she'd been mistaken; that Duo had been carrying the ring for someone else, or maybe had found it on the street. Desperate thoughts, but she'd loved him far too long to give up so easily.  
The inscription on the ring had destroyed all those notions, though.  
'To Duo, all my love.'  
She'd loved him for so long.   
It had started when he'd smiled at her for the first time. It had engulfed her as she watched him lean back in his chair, all his arrogance showing through in one cocky grin. Later on, when they were living together at the junkyard after the first war, that same smile had seduced her into letting him in her bed, tricked her into saying words she didn't really mean.  
'No strings attached, Duo. Just something casual between two lonely people.'  
Last night had been the first time she'd seen him since he'd left her six years ago. Her quiet love hadn't been enough in the face of his restlessness, and she'd said goodbye with a false smile.   
But last night was now part of the past, and what mattered now was reality in the form of a wedding band and a sleeping figure in her bed down the hall. Despite their frigidity, her mother's words had guided her for so long, shaped her opinions about relationships and the sanctity of marriage vows. She could still remember the look of absolute hatred on her mother's face as she'd watched her husband leave.  
What sort of woman would do such a thing?  
She heard him begin to stir.  
Slowly, she picked up the ring and made her way back to his coat. She dropped it back in the pocket and turned to watch the hallway. His figure appeared in her bedroom doorway and then began to make its way down the hall. He was smiling, and it was just like she remembered it.  
She smiled back as he reached out to embrace her.  
What sort of woman would do such a thing?  
A woman in love.  
They kissed in the morning sunlight.  



End file.
